Assimilation
by Sensible Tortoise
Summary: During an attack on the colony she is supposed to protect and defend, Rei meets a strange girl who introduces her to a new world she never thought could exist. M for language, gore, and possible smut later on.
1. Chapter 1

The marines in the mess hall simultaneously jumped into action, the deafening siren alerting them to an intruder entering the base. Rei Soto scoured the room for her commander. The teams would assemble into three squads and comb the entire compound until they found whatever _or whomever_ Rei though, had set off the alarm.

Pulse rifle in hand she joined with her seven man team. Dutch, the sergeant in charge, silently signed orders to them, reminding them to check all corners and the ceiling. This was not the first time something had triggered the alarm. Only weeks ago the same thing happened. Some kind of slimy black creature relentlessly made its way through the base leaving a trail of bodies in it's path. Dozens of men and women died. They are unsure of what it was that attacked them. For certain it was alien, but there was no record from any other system or database they checked. When they shot at it blood spurted out and melted through armor and flesh. It took days to finally kill it. Scientists tried to perform a necropsy on the body, but the acidic blood disintegrated any and all instruments they used. Rei silently prayed that this wouldn't be another one of those creatures.

The compact metal corridors echoed their footsteps. Rei hated them. The hollow metal pipes and grates that served as a walkway made it damn near impossible to employ stealth in their search; anything that was out there, human or not, was sure to hear them coming. She would never admit it to any of the guys on her team, but it made her nervous.

They turned a corner and halted. The hall had collapsed in on itself, leaving only a narrow space at the top to squeeze through. "Soto go ahead and see if you find anything. The rest of us are going to have to take the long way around" She heard the sergeant's voice whisper through her head piece.

"Copy that" She replied as silent as she could, hoping her fear wasn't apparent. When the rest of the team stopped Rei tiptoed as quietly as she could climbing over the baracade, and going ahead. Being the smallest person in the entire compound, excluding children, her small frame was perfect for crouching in small corners and blending into dark crevasses that her much larger teammates could never do.

If you didn't know where you were going it would seem like a maze. Weyland-Yutani must hate the people they employ. Nothing about the architectural design was practical. The walkways were elevated, walls covered in piping and wires that ran to who knows where. The main purpose of the compound was to try and make the planet that it resided on habitable for humans. Earth was all but depleted, and the Weyland-Yutani corp. was determined to spread humanity out to as many planets as it possibly could. No matter what the cost. Personally Rei thought that they had their heads way to far up their own asses to really care about what they were doing. On their planet LV-629 they were receiving reports more frequently about how other settlements on other planets were encountering different species. Some of them reported friendly, most reported hostile.

Passing by the medical bay Rei noticed something out of place. "Serge it looks like someone sacked med-bay." She called in.

"What do you see Soto?"

Entering through a shattered window, "Windows are out. They were smashed from the inside by something trying to get out." Walking further taking great pains not to make any noise on the strewn instruments or broken glass Rei took in her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the over powering smell of blood. In this section there weren't many medical officers, but she found all seven of them in a pile in a corner of the research lab.

"Sir the med crew is dead. Most look like cause of death was a stab would to the abdomen probably piercing the heart or lungs."

"Copy Soto. Keep looking. ETA five minutes."

Continuing her search she moved away from the pile walking towards the back room that doubled as storage and a morgue. The filing cabinets were all ripped open and papers were scattered. Glass jars that contained different body parts from a multitude of specimen were broken, the liquid contense inside now covering the floor, mixing with the blood of the dead science officers. Once inside the morgue she noticed there were five bodies on gurneys, the sheets were torn back on each one. Upon further inspection she saw that all five looked like something pushed its way out of their abdomens, ribcages and splintered and bent unnaturally outwards. The wound was so large that she could see the spine of the person she was examining. _What the hell happened to them? _She thought to herself.

Each table had a shiny trail of fresh blood leading from each one that stretched towards a small air vent on the back wall. She charged up her rifle and crouched, pausing after each step to watch for any sign of movement.

Reaching out towards the vent she was jerked back violently. Pulling the trigger as she went sliding across the floor it missed her target and singed the wall behind it. She only got a momentary glimpse of what she was dealing with before it vanished. A flash of what looked like dark brownish black scales and something purple. Looking around the room she couldn't see it anymore. There was no sign to where it went. There was no way it could have run away that fast. Now that she thought about it the thing was standing still when it disappeared. Searching for an explanation she recalled a conversation she had a few days ago with an engineer who said he was working on an upgrade the cloaking mechanism for all the transport ships. _Does it have some sort of cloaking device? That's impossible! The companies' ships only have a very primitive version of this. How does this… thing have it?_

"Serge I've made contact! I can't tell what it is, but whatever it is it can camouflage itself be careful!"

"Soto can you follow it?" The sergeant yelled in response.

"No I can't see it anymore but I don't think it's left med-bay. Also there are five bodies that looks like they were harboring something inside them. Blood trails lead to an air vent and disappear inside. I went to check it out but whatever was in here with me pulled me away from it. I tried firing but it vanished before I could get a lock."

"Is it hostile?"

"It doesn't appear to be no." Rei was startled by a sudden clanging. She whipped around to see the thing had been pinned down by a piece of machinery that had fallen over, catching it's foot. It still had the cloak activated but now that it was stationary again she could see the faint outline of the body. Rei couldn't make out any features.

She started walking closer. It was struggling a little and Rei thought thatit must have hit it's head when it fell.

"Hello?" She whispered.

Suddenly it turned around; the cloak fell as it drew its weapon at her. Still on the ground, twisted around facing Rei she could see what it looked like. A long slightly curved sword point at her. She trained her rifle on what appeared to be a female. She was wearing dark smooth armor, which covered her chest and shoulders. What looked like roughened black leather pants rode low on her hips fastened by metal clips, and a straps holding a different array of weaponry around each thigh. The pants stretched down into thick metal toed boots adorned with two small spikes on each toe. Her skin had what she could only describe as an outline of scaling. The dark brown and black spots only speckles down the sides of her neck, down to the outsides of her arms and sides of her abdomen, and disappeared down her hips into her pants. The rest looked like normal human skin. The metal mask covering her face was expressionless, purple hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"What the hell are you?" Rei questioned. The girl started to lower her sword and rei heard a shot ring out.

Looking up Dutch was standing in the entrance to the medical bay, pulse rifle raised up. "You ok?" He asked Rei.

"Yes sir."

"What do you think it is?" He asked gesturing to the now limp body on the ground.

"I'm not sure sir. Did you kill her?"

"No. I only stunned her for a bit. What the hell is it?"

Rei shrugged, "I'm not sure. Doesn't look like anything that has been reported. Her weapons are basic cutting devices which imply primitive, yet the possible cloaking technology would suggest far more advanced.

"We need to get her back to base for questioning." Dutch turned and motioned to two other marines. They looked as though they were asked to carry something toxic. After receiving a harsh expletive from the Sergeant cautiously they walked over and picked up the girl.

The group walked out of the medical bay and back towards operations where they would put the girl into a holding cell. _Maybe _Rei thought _I can ask her what it was that came out of those dead people. Maybe she knows and that's why she got me away from the air vent. She must know. Is she after whatever it is?_ So many questions crossed her mind as she walked with her team. She stared at the lifeless body being carried ahead of her. She knew how her sergeant could get during an interrogation. He was ruthless, just like in battle, he would never let up until he got the answers he was looking for. Rei hoped he wouldn't get to pushy, even though that was a very light term for what he would do, because technically that girl, whoever she was, might have saved her from whatever was in those vents.


	2. Chapter 2

"I need everyone out of this room now!" Dutch Shouted.

Researchers and marines alike scattered out of the holding cell and the surrounding observation room. Dutch was a very imposing person. Many people on the base were afraid of him. He was infamous for how intense he got when he had an objective. He didn't let anything, or anyone, get in his way.

The two soldiers that had the job of carrying the girls lifeless body roughly set her down into a chair that was bolted down in the dead center of the room. They made quick work of removing her weapons. She had quite an arsenal on her. Attached to her back she had two identical thin, slightly curved swords. Rei thought they closely resembled something she once saw in an ancient history book about earth. Around one thigh was a strip of small throwing knives, and around the other a small round device that looked like an awkward Frisbee.

Once they had any and all pointy things removed they tied her down to the chair. Thin metal cables were used just incase they misjudged her strength. Finally the two marines got to the mask. It didn't look like it was held on by much of anything. There were no straps or buckles; nothing that looked like it was attached to her skin or otherwise. Yet when they pulled it off there was a click and a small hiss of air pressure. What was underneath shocked everyone.

She was human; or was human at one point. She seemed to regain her awareness by the time they took the mask off. The second her it was removed she tried to jump out of the chair, and hissed at the marines who instinctively stepped backwards. Her eyes were a dark maroon with a thick black ring around the irises. The canine teeth were all elongated and sharp. The scaling that outlined her body also outlined her face near her hairline. The hair itself was a dark purple that could have been mistaken for black at first glance. A multitude of cornrows lead up to the ponytail that was secured with a small silver ring.

"What the fuck" Dutch murmured beside her. "you two out!" He turned and shouted pointing to the two soldiers. Rei went to head out into observation when Dtuch grabbed her arm, "Not you. You stay here."

"yes sir" rei nodded uncertain of why she was needed.

Dutch turned to the girl. Walking in a slow circle and watching her intently. All the while she ignored him, looking straight ahead at the wall in front of her. Rei thought that this couldn't have been the first time she had gone through something like this. She was acting like a seasoned marine, or warrior in her case. There were enough scars marring her body to confirm that suspicion.

Once Dutch finished his circle without hesitation he smacked her across the face. She didn't even make a sound. Stone faced she sat back up and continued to stare at the wall.

"Who the fuck are you?" Dutch snarled the question. "What the fuck are you?" He continued.

The girl showed no expression so Dutch hit her again, this time with more force. "You should really answer my questions. It's rude to ignore me."

Rei interrupted, "Maybe she doesn't understand English."

Dutch looked at her like she had grown a third head. "Look at her! Of course she fucking understands English!"

"But what if she doesn't? Yes she looks partially human, but maybe she isn't. Maybe she's something else. It wouldn't be the first alien contact that we have had."

Eyes narrowing Dutch took a few threatening steps towards her. "Are you suggesting that you think you can do my job better than I can?"

"Absolutely not sir. I'm just stating a possibility. So far she hasn't shown any hostility towards anyone. She could have fought us while we were taking her here, yet she didn't even move. I men look at all the weapons she had. She had plenty of opportunity to kill any number of us. She could have killed me while I was alone in med-bay." Rei looked the girl in the eyes, "I think there is something else that is in the compound. I think she know what it is. I think she's more interested in finding it that hurting us."

For the first time the alien girl moved, only for a brief moment her eyes glanced over to Rei. She believed she was correct in what she had said, and if it was possible she was even more concerned now. There was something else, something more dangerous, still roaming freely.

"Sir will all due respect I think we need to keep looking."

"That's a bunch of bullshit. This bitch set off our systems and trashed the medical bay. I want to know why!" This time he kicked her in the stomach. The alien girl double over as far as her restrained arms would allow still silent.

She couldn't take it anymore. Rei rolled her eyes and stormed out of the interrogation room. Trouncing past her teammates that had been watching she collected her gun.

"Rei what do you think is out there?" a marine names Anthony asked.

Strapping the rifle to her shoulder she replied, "I'm not sure. What ever it is there are at least five of them, and they are in the ducts. By this time they could be anywhere.

"Is it more of those things that we faced last time?" Another soldier asked.

"Guys I have no idea what is out there. All I know is that it's there but Serge is to focused on her," She pointed to the girl on the monitor who was still being pummeled by their enraged leader, "To even care that we could all be in some deep shit."

Like bad timing in a horror movie the sirens started going off again signaling more intruders. "I fucking told you!" Rei shouted over the blaring alarm.

Dutch stomped out of the interrogation room. "Fucking more of these bitches!" Men let's move! If you see one shoot it. Kill it. I don't want anymore of them walking around my base do you understand me?" He yelled.

"Yes sir" The group shouted in unison.

Rei knew going out like this was a bad idea. She didn't think there were any more things out there like the alien girl. Whatever was tripping the alarm was going to be much worse. Her fears were reality as soon as they heard the screams.

As the team made their way through the halls they could hear the faint screams of civilians and soldiers alike being killed, and gun shots of the other marines fighting for their lives, and faintly, they could hear the echoes of an all to familiar screeching sound.

"Mother of god" Rei didn't want to believe it. She recognized that sound as did the other members of her team. The memories rushed back to all of them. How one of those things killed dozens of good men and women, How long it took to bring it down. And this time there was the possibility there was more than one. They could hardly survive one. How could they ever dream of surviving more?

This was the question stuck on all their minds as they fired up their rifles, preparing themselves mentally for what they knew they were about to face.


	3. Chapter 3

They were taking everyone. Rei watched as the aliens dragged away her fellow marines. The screams all mixed together. You couldn't even tell there was an echo now, just one continuous wail. No matter how many aliens they killed more just kept coming.

"Soto fall back! Get behind the barricade!" Dutch shouted at her.

The few remaining survivors had built barricades around the command center. Aliens had swarmed the entire compound wiping out their communications and means of evacuating. They were intelligent. Rei could tell they were learning their tactics and were finding ways around everything. They were using the air vents to move around. The vents themselves were inside the walls behind layers of metal which made it harder to track them. _More poor architectural planning _Rei thought.

She turned around and started running down the corridors heading for what she hoped was safety. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. _The girl!_ Backtracking a bit she sprinted towards the holding cell that she was being held in. Mostly abandoned there were only three officers still collecting supplies. Looking at the monitor and making sure that the girl was still in the chair one of the remaining soldiers tried to stop her

"You cant go in there!" He grabbed her arm.

"She may be the only hope we have. Let me in or I will kill you myself." Being his superior he had no choice but to let go.

She punched in the code for the lock and the door slid open. She walked in the room and the door sealed with a hiss behind her. Standing silently in front of the girl Rei waited for her to look up.

"Ok look. Maybe you can't understand me, and maybe you can. I need your help. You know what those things are out there don't you?"

Seconds felt like hours as Rei stared into the soulless eyes that stared back at her. The alien girl nodded her head once.

"So you understand what I am saying?" Rei asked. Again the girl nodded. "Can you help me?"

This time there was no nod. Rei waited for her to show any sign of wanting to help. Finally she tried again. Taking a step towards the girl was a mistake though. As soon as she stepped forward the girl lunged at her making a deep hissing noise, held back by her restraints.

"Look I know you don't trust me. Hell you don't have to. That's not what I'm asking. I just want to know if you can help me kill whatever it is that is out there killing my people!"

A snarl still on the girls face made Rei think that there was no getting through to her. This girl would rather die her than help her. With a sigh she started to turn and walk away when the girl spoke, "I'm going to need my things back." Rei whipped around.

"You speak English?" She asked the alien.

"Yeah." She responded. She spoke with what sounded like a northern English accent, an empire which now had inhabited a planet to itself for hundreds of years.

"How did you learn English?"

The girl just looked at Rei like she was the alien, "well I probably learned it because I am from earth. Not that you would guess." She smirked.

Rei shook her head.

"Good. I'll take that as a compliment. Now can you let me up."

Stunned at finding out that this girl is a human Rei walked over to where the plasma saw was kept. Breaking the glass she picked it up and freed the alien _well I guess human technically _she thought.

As the girl stood up she grabbed at her rib cage and winced slightly. "You're actually hurt?" Rei asked. From how the girl acted she didn't think anything Dutch did had fazed her at all.

"Yes I hurt. That guy has a hell of an arm, but I've been through worse. I should be fully healed in an hour or so." She stretched the muscles in her neck, "Now I need my weapons back" she paused, "please."

Rei walked over to the door and opened it. Picking up her rifle she grinned,"Follow me" The two of them ran off down one of the corridors. The armaments in question would have been taken to the science department so that they could analyze them and see just how much of a threat she would have been to them. Personally Rei thought it was a stupid idea. Obviously this girl was more advanced if she was able to camouflage herself. If she had wanted to kill them all Rei believed that she could have.

"They will be looking for me." The girl stated as they slowed to glance around a corner; making sure that there was nothing black and slimy waiting for them on the other side.

"Who are they?"

"My companions. They will know I have gone missing and they will be looking for me by now. My transceiver is on one of my gauntlets. That is where they will be looking for me."

"So there are more of you?" Rei asked.

"Not exactly, I'm how you would say… Unique."

This statement puzzled Rei. There are more of her… but not more of her? The growing sound of gun fire drew her from her thoughts. They were nearing the labs. She knew that they probably had some kind of specimen in there, along with what the girl needed. As they turned the final corner Rei's heart dropped. The entrance was being guarded by what few men the colony had left. She knew that they had to get in there, but the chances of them letting the alien in were slim.

"Don't say anything." Rei told the girl. "As far as they know you don't understand a word of English."

"Don't make me play stupid."

"If you want your things back you'll listen to me."

The girl growled but acquiesced. Alien in tow Rei walked up to three of the men guarding the door. "'Scuse me." She tried pushing past. Both men raised their guns and pointed them to the girl behind her.

"What is she doing out of holding?" One of them asked.

"She is probably the only chance we have and she is in need of her effects. Now if you excuse me I'm going in." Rei tried pushing passt but the marine shoved her back with the butt end of his rifle and pointed it at her.

"Soto you know I can't let you do that. She was captured as a hostile. She has escaped and you also know that means that I have to terminate her." Rei heard the faint buzz as the rifle charged.

Before she could blink she was pushed aside and saw the girl jump onto the bigger of the marines. Somehow swinging herself around his back a full three-hundred sixty degrees she pointed his weapon at the other marine right as he was going to fire. The plasma shot out of the end shooting a hole through the abdomen of the unsuspecting soldier. Blood and what was left of his disintegrated organs splashed against the glass of the science department door. As he fell to the ground the slump of his body was accompanied by the sound of bones snapping. Rei turned to see the girl snap the neck of the larger man. The girl landed on all fours as he fell to the ground in a lifeless heap. She looked over at Rei.

"You were taking to long."

Stunned Rei walked over and opened the door. Motioning for the girl to go first she followed behind.

"My name is Kida'kiri. Or you can call me Kida." She casually said over her shoulder. "When you let me out I figured I should at least tell you my name."

"Oh. Well my name is.."

"Rei Soto." Kida smiled. Upon seeing Rei's confused expression she followed with, "I have better hearing than you think. Remember, I said that I used to be human." Stressing the words used to.

"Right. Well. Kida you're things are going to be in one of the rooms on the left." She motioned past tabled covered in computers, microscopes and centrifuges to a small row of doors off to the side of the room. She watched as Kida walked by the first one without even glancing inside, to the second door, kicking it open. Chunks of metal from the now obliterated lock skittered across the floor. Kida disappeared inside the dark room. Rei could hear the breaking of locking devices and wires that must have been keeping the alien weapons safe.

"What in the hell do you think you are doing here?" and angry masculine voice shouted from the doorway behind Rei.

She turned around to see Dutch looming in the frame. His face caked with dried blood, probably from fallen soldiers, and parts of his uniform looked like it had been melted by the acidic blood of the creatures.

"Sir I know what I did was wrong but she can help us! You have to understand that by now."

"How the fuck is she going to be any help to us at all?" He shouted. "Hundreds of men and women have been killed or taken by those sons of bitches. What is one girl going to do?"

Almost as soon as his finished his sentence a small metal abject whizzed past Rei's head and hit Dutch in the shoulder. He winced in pain but refrained from making any noise. He looked past were Rei was and crinkled his face in disgust. Rei assumed Kida had returned from arming herself and that she was the one exacting revenge on Dutch for the pain he put her through.

Kida turned her head slightly to look at something back in the room where she came from. "You wanted to know who it was that hurt me." She pointed at Dutch, "Well that's the bastard right there."

Neither Rei nor Dutch knew who it was she was talking to until they both was a giant figure emerge from the room. He was much taller than Kida, so tall that it had to duck to get past the doorway. He had on the same kind of face mask that Kida was now wearing again, Dreadlocks spilling out of the sides. He was also had a lot more armor than Kida did. Almost completely covered except for the sides of his abdomen, and even that had some sort of mesh covering. His hands were scaly and reptilian each finger ending in a sharp claw. He looked down at Kida and growled at her. She must have understood what he meant because she smiled and stepped out of his way.

Taking long precise steps towards Dutch He did some sort of twitching motion with his arms and two long jagged blades extended from one of his wrist gauntlets. Upon reaching Dutch the thing thrust both blades through the sergeant and lifted him off the ground. Sounds of pain escaped his mouth along with blood and spittle. With its other hand the alien took of his face mask to reveal pale yellow skin that turned to dark green towards the outside with dark brown scaling. Four mandibles covered what counted as a mouth, which had two small rows of razor sharp teeth.

Mandibles extended the alien let out a piercing roar. Rei flinched at the sound of it, and glanced over to Kida who was standing arms crossed and smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! Thank you all so much for reading this. I honestly didn't think this would get any views. I appreciate all the comments and reviews you have been giving, and Kida WILL be getting her own story. It's already half written (WOO!).

I'm posting chapter 4 today instead of Tuesday because I will be out of town and would rather release early and not late. Hope you enjoy!

"I'm sorry I have to ask. What the hell is that?" Rei shouted pointing at the thing that now had her former commanders body sliding off those sword things on his arm.

Kida crossed her arms and grinned. "This is my master. Bhu'ja'Kiri. This is who I said would be looking for me, and it looks like he took his sweet time doing so.. Again!" She had directed her attention to the giant lizard that seemed to be ignoring her. It made a few clicking sounds. "I don't care if you were busy!"

Rei looked from Kida to the lizard. She was having a difficult time figuring out the relationship between these two. Kida looked tough enough, but this thing was huge and could probably tear her to shreds yet she was yelling at it like it was a child. After a few more clicking sounds kida rolled her eyes and stormed past both of them and out the door. "Let's just go find the other."

_Other? _Rei thought. _There are more of these things? Fuck how many god damn aliens am I going to have to deal with today. I did not sign up for this shit._

The lizard overtook Kida in a few steps and took the lead of their motley group leading them effortlessly through the maze of halls.

"Kida I'm not sure how to ask this without probably insulting the both of you, but… um. What the hell is going on? Why was he looking for you? Why didn't he know that you were in another room? And how in the hell can you understand him?"

"You ask a lot of questions. It's quite annoying, but, since I was in your place once I can forgive the insult. To the first we are leaving this planet and destroying the hive. To the second he can only track my gauntlet which was taken from me, therefore he though that I was in the room with it. And to the third I have lived with my kind for long enough that I speak the language."

"So then why did you speak English to it? How can he understand you?"

Kida rolled her eyes. "Keep this up and you will end up like the rest of your people." She motioned to a fallen soldier who had been decapitated. Rei assumed it was by the reptilian thing in front of her.

"So he can understand what I am saying to you right now?"

"Yes and he finds it amusing that I am suffering now as he did when he found me."

Rei swore she heard the lizard laugh at that comment.

They group came to the mess hall. Tables and chairs were scattered around the room. The lights were smashed, some melted. Bodies were strewn about, mostly in parts There was so much blood that the floors had a red sheen. What little light was in the room reflected from the red floors and debris creating a strange atmosphere. The sight mixed with the metallic smell made even Rei a little queasy. Kida and the lizard came to a sudden stop a few steps into the room. They both looked around the darkened room. Each seemed to be scanning a side looking for something in particular.

"Rei stay where you are." Kida whispered and unsheathed two slightly curved swords from her back. The lizard powered up some sort of gun on his shoulder, Three beams of light came from his mask. Rei assumed it was the aiming system for "They are here." Kida was the first to start walking.

The sound of her steps echoed when she lightly stepped through the crimson puddle. Occasionally there would be a small snap in which she would freeze for a second and look around before continuing. The lizard followed her except he walked backwards, keeping an eye on her back. The duo didn't make it half way when Rei saw something moving on the ceiling. She didn't know how to warn them.

"Hey!" She whispered. They made no sign to say they heard her, "Guys there is something up there!" She gasped as the alien hurled itself from above to attack the lizard. Lasers pointed at its head the gun fired a bright blue electric charge hitting its mark. Kida and her master dived out of the way of the blood splatter that was now eating away at the debris of the mess hall.

"Rei run!" Kida yelled out, cutting through another alien that had seemed to appear out of nowhere from the wall.

As fast as she could Rei ran over tables that had been flipped over to make shields, chairs that had been used as last resort projectiles, and finally the bodies of the men and women who were lucky enough to not have been taken when something black and slimy landed in front of her. It stood slowly up on two legs and had to be well over seven feet tall. Tail lashing out as it snarled at her. Rei drew her gun and aimed. She didn't know how effective it would be. The alien sprung and Rei pulled the trigger sending a plasma beam through where its eyes would have been. Bright green blood landed on her glove. She screamed as it started eating through. She dropped her gun in the hurry to remove it.

Stunned that she had finally killed one she forgot to keep moving. It wasn't long before another one showed up to take the fallen ones place.

It struck her in the arm with its tail leaving a deep cut through her bicep. Rei cried out in pain. Rei fumbled for her weapon rememberin that she had dropped it not moments before. She looked at the aliens face. Its mouth opened to reveal a much smaller one inside. She was in to much pain to keep focus. Suddenly the thing exploded. In shock Rei looked to the other side of the room. Another one of Kida's companions was standing there shoulder gun smoking.

"I fucking told you to run!" She heard Kida yell

Rei sprinted to the door hoping that the other two would make it through as well. When she got there she backed against the wall and slid to the ground, tearing off a piece of her shirt so that she could keep pressure on her wound. She looked around to make sure the other two were still alive.

The way they fought Rei though was almost like watching two people dance. They complimented each other to the point that it looked like they knew what the other was going to do before it they did it. They were perfectly in sync. Kida would kill one alien and duck just in time for the lizard to aim a perfect plasma blast at one that came charging up from behind. More than once Kida used him as a platform to hurl herself at an alien using the momentum to cleanly decapitate it. _They must have fought together for a long time. _Rei would almost consider the sight to be beautiful were it not for the congealed blood that was being kicked into the air.

Blue sparks next to her woke her from her day dream. The second of those giant reptiles had uncloaked itself next to her. It was also watching the other two fight, taking only a second to glance down at Rei. It was smaller than the one fighting with Kida. Where the first one had a flesh colored center that fade outward to a dark green this one was a pale yellow with dark brown stripes. Its armor was lighter as well, however, it's helmet had the same marking that she had seen on the larger one. It reminded Rei of wasps she had seen in books. _This must be how those bugs feel. I'm starting to feel bad for that spider I squished the other day._

The cries of the dying aliens had finally stopped. Rei looked over to the pair. There seemed to be a moment of hostility when the first guy grabbed Kida by the neck and pulled her close to him. He tilted her head from side to side and made a sound that Rei could only describe as purring. The moment turned from hostile to intimate. _What the? _She thought.

She stood up as Kida and her partner ran over to where she and the other one were waiting. Not a word was said as they all ran through the door. The new lizard removed something from its wrist and began pressing buttons.

"What is he doing?" She yelled at Kida.

"I told you. We are destroying the hive."

"Wait you're going to blow up the colony?"

"That is the only way to get rid of the hard meats! Your people are dead, and they are being used to incubate more of them. If we don't destroy them then they will infest the planet and then spread to other worlds."

"But you can't just kill everyone!" Rei tried to stop but Kidas partner grabbed her arm and pulled her with.

"They were dead the second they landed here. They were the ones who opened the hive. It is their fault that this has happened. We are here to clean up your mess."

Rei didn't know what to say. She knew that their was no stopping what they were going to do. Her best bet for survival at this point was to shut up and go with them, where ever it was they were going.

"Follow Bhu'ja!" Kida shouted. They had been running for what felt like an hour. Rei could hear the screeching of the aliens behind them. Kida had stopped to fend off the aliens that had caught up.

Bhu'ja hissed at her, she took it as a warning to keep moving. They would soon be at one of the bay doors that lead to outside the colony. Rei wasn't sure how safe the atmosphere would be for her to breathe once she was out there. It was supposed to take decades before the air would be completely safe for humans. _At least I won't die by being eaten. That's a step up. _The door was getting closershe pushed her legs to keep going. Even with all the military training this was difficult.

She heard Bhu'ja's cannon charge itself and fire at the sealed door in front of them. Running through the charred hole Rei took in a breath; the air was thin, very thin and she would last long out here.

The giant aliens ran towards what looked like a normal stationary rock. The one called Bhu'Ja pressed a button on his gauntlet and blue sparks started coming from the mountain… or in front of it. The same way that the second lizard had uncloaked itself there was now an entire ship de-cloaking.

"What the hell." Rei slowed down to take in what was happening in front of her.

"Keep it moving!" Kida ran up from behind her. Rei noticed that he swords were dripping with the green blood. A ramp lowered from the side of the large metal object. "Get on!"

Rei listened without hesitation. The interior was extremely dark. A few red lights were scattered around so she couldn't tell the exact color of the interior. The second lizard was the next one to board, not stopping he ran straight down a passageway to Rei's left. Shortly after Kida and Bhu'ja entered and the ramp lifted itself up. The duo finally slowed down, neither of them looking the slightest bit winded from the ordeal. Rei on the other hand felt as though she were suffocating.

Kida noticed the girl panicking, "Don't worry your body will adapt to the air quality soon. Follow me and brace yourself. It can be a bit bumpy at first." Almost as soon as she said that the craft jerked upwards causing Rei to fall to her knees on the hard ground.

"Fuck" she exclaimed.

Kida extended a hand down to her. "You'll get used to it."

"I don't plan on it." She lifted herself to her feet. "Why would I be getting used to it."

Kida smirked, "Because we are keeping you."


	5. Chapter 5

HEYYYYYYY sorry it's a... bit late *shifty eyes*. It was a rough week last week and I didn't feel like posting. I won't lie. Well anyways better late than never right?

Kida led Rei through the dark obsidian halls. They came to a central room lit with dim red lights. She couldn't see her own feet, mist covered everything below her knees. It gave an ominous tone to the room. Columns were placed in a circle covered in glyphs. Rei tried looking at some of them but Kida hurried her along. She watched as a door lifted open and Kida's two giant companions walked inside and began taking off their weapons and placing them on racks inside.

"Where are we going?" She asked

"You will see," The ship jerked a little. Rei guessed that they just left the atmosphere.

The room they finally made it to was nothing but a giant window at the back looking out the rear of the craft. The only light coming from the ambience of open space. Rei could see the now abandoned planet sinking away into the distance. Never had she been gladder to leave a place. Her concern now was where were they taking her?

She turned to Kida, "So what happens now?"

"Now you come home with us." Her gaze never left the sight of the stars behind them.

"And what?"

Kida shrugged, "You will be sold. That's how it works with us. The Yautja look down upon any species that is not their own. They are very proud and will make sure you know what you are worth."

"They sound like great people." Rei rolled her eyes.

"You best learn to speak without such sarcasm. That will get you into trouble. Don't think that they are heartless. They can be understanding at times, as long as you listen."

"I was in the army, my life was taking orders."

"Good!" Kida slapped a hand on Rei's shoulder and shook it, "Then you should do well." She turned around to walk out of the room.

"She is brave. She is not like other oomans." Lar'ja commented. Cross armed he watched Bhu'ja remove the last of his armor. "I think she could do well with us."

Bhu'ja shook his head, "Do not get ahead of yourself. It is difficult what you are thinking of doing. Not many oomans are allowed, and fewer survive."

"Are you saying that I would not train her well enough to pass?"

"I am not. I do not want to give you the false hope that the council will even allow you to train her. They will want her to work. They will want to break everything that she is and then from there have you rebuild her to our standards."

"They let you keep Kida. Lar'ja said matter-of-factly, widening his stance as an authoritative gesture.

Bhu'ja, insulted by what was said swung around and towered over his companion, "She was special. She earned her place! She proved to all members of the council that she was more than worthy to be kept. Don't insinuate otherwise or risk further insult."

Raising his hands up in surrender, "Apologies," He chuckled, "I forgot how protective you are of her, as you should be. You are lucky to have found that ooman."

"I know"

"What if I want to keep this one?" Lar'Ja Inquired again.

"Like I said, She will have to work for it. They will make you keep her as a slave. She can't start out having any hopes of ever getting out. Only when she proves herself in servitude will they consider your offer. Then there is the others to consider. Kida still isn't thought highly of amongst the clan. Many hate her and wish her dead."

"Good luck to them if they ever acted upon those feelings" Lar'Ja chuckled.

Bhu'Ja nodded his head. "Take it slow. Break her. Then see how you feel about it."

Kida showed Rei around the ship. From the outside it had looked much larger. She supposed that was because it took a lot for a ship like this to travel over multiple systems. Instead of a barracks style room for all of them each person had their own room with what could be considered a wash area. Rei would be confined to her sleeping area for the trip, put into a hyper sleep so that she would not disturb the others.

"What happens when we get to your planet?"

"You will be sent to be cleaned. Then they will send you for gene therapy and then you will be sold."

"Gene therapy?"

"It is so you age slower, or not at all. You will die when your master tells you to die."

"How long have you been a slave for?"

Kida stopped and crinkled her face as the question insulted her. "I have never been a slave."

"So what are you then?"

"I am Yautja." She pounded her right fist over her heart.

"But what were you before that?"

She shrugged. "What you would call an apprentice? I believe that is the term for it."

Rei was confused. "Wait, so they make humans slaves, but you were never a slave."

"Correct. I saved Bhu'ja's life. Therefore it was determined that I could be trained as a warrior."

She couldn't help but laugh. Even looking at her now Kida was still much smaller in size compared to the bigger of the reptiles. She stood possibly just under six feet compared to his seven, and though she was muscular it wasn't anything compared to them. "How in the hell did you save him?" She asked trying to control the humor in her voice.

"I don't like reliving the past."

"Sorry, but I really would like to know… Please?"

"Only a shortened version since I am supposed to put you to sleep for the journey; When I was on earth I was arranged to be married to a horrible man. When I was traveling to his stronghold our party was attacked by the kainde amedha. We were no match. I was thrown from my horse and I tried to crawl away and hide when my husband to be dragged me by my hair away from the fray. He wanted to hurt me, and he would have. By the time I was dropped and had the courage to look up he was impaled by Bhu'ja's dah'kte. I was mesmerized by the blades protruding from his chest, just hanging there almost as if Bhu'Ja was displaying his corpse for me. I still remember the blood dripping his wounds onto my dress.

That's when I first saw him. When he dropped my now former mate I didn't know what else to do, so I followed. He saved me therefore I owed my life to him." Kida shrugged, "When we got back to the battle, the kainde amedha had been killed along with most of the men. Those who had survived were now trying to kill Bhu'Ja and his companion at the time. One tried to sneak up behind him, that's when I picked up a sword that was far to heavy for me and killed the soldier."

"Why did you save him? He was an alien."

"There were no such things as aliens back in that time. He saved me. I owed him and I was doing what I could to repay that. The Yautja take it a bit more seriously though when it is an ooman who does the saving. They earn a lot more respect for you. I was taken after that. He threw me over his shoulder and carried me away from the fighting and onto this ship."

"No such thing as aliens?"

Kida shook her head.

"When the hell was there no aliens?"

Kida Laughed, "I was taken in the year 1012. I was born in what you would have considered Northern England in the year 992."

The two Yautja busied themselves cleaning their armor. With the acidic blood from the kainde amehda it took special care. Kida joined the two.

Not looking up from his work Bhu'ja asked, "Is she in hyper sleep?"

"Yes."

"How much did you tell her?"

"She knows that I saved your life."

Upon hearing this Lar'ja's attention fixated on the girl. This was news to him. "What!"

"It is not important," Bhu'Ja snapped, "Why did you tell her that."

"She asked how long I have been your slave."

"That is preposterous. I would never subject you to servitude."

"I know, my love but she does not. She assumes that you are my master and that I follow your every order." It took all her will power for her to not burst out into laughter. Kida and Bhu'ja had butted heads since he decided to keep her.

Bhu'ja thought back to the beginning of Kida's training. She never wanted to follow his orders even when he was teaching her how to survive. She started out afraid of him. He looked at her now and was proud of how far she had come.

"Come to me." He called to her. "You." He said pointing to Lar'ja, "out"

He knew better than to argue that he still wasn't done with his cleaning. He would have to get back to that later apparently.

Kida walked over to her mate and sat down in his now vacant lap. "What can I do for you master?" She smirked.


	6. Chapter 6

OH god oh god oh god... I wrote the sex THERE IS SEX IN THIS CHAPTER! This is the first time I have written sex please be gentle with me

...

"You like this new ooman?" Bhu'Ja inquired. He sat down on a near by bench motioning for Kida to come to him.

She shrugged as she walked over. Sitting on his lap she replied, "She was curious. I remembered how scared I was when you stole me at first. I felt obliged to comfort her."

Bhu'Ja responded with only a growl which made Kida smile.

"I know you remember." She reached up and began playing with one of his dreadlocks. He closed his eyes and made what Kida called a purr, "It's only fair that I let her know what she is getting into. It's going to be difficult for her."

"It may not be as bad for her as you think." He raked his claws down her back causing her to arch into him.

Kida's eyes widened as he stared undoing the laces that held her armor on. "oh!"

Bhu'Ja sighed, "Lar'Ja wants to train her eventually."

"Does he know how difficult that is going to be? I don't want to sound arrogant but there are only two who have ever survived, and then there is still the stigma of being ooman." Kida began removing the rest of the cumbersome metal herself. Bhu'Ja successfully removed her chest-plate himself whilst she took off her leg and arm bracers. The clang of the metal hitting the floor echoed off the walls.

Bhu'Ja grabbed her by the sides of her face forcing her to look into his bright yellow eyes. "You have earned the right to be arrogant. I have told you not to apologize. As for the girl she has a long way to go before she is ready to be trained."

"I have not yet. There is still one more task I need to complete." Kida said sternly. Letting out a sigh he released her face and shook his head at her. With a smug look Kida turned her body so that she was straddling his lap. She leaned forward and rested her head on his chest. He placed both large hands on her thighs and worked his way up, pushing her covering up around her waist causing a moan to escape from her mouth. Kida pressed herself closer to him. She smelled of the battle. For him it was the most intoxicating scent, especially when mixed with his own h'dui'se.

He knew she could smell him now when she looked up at him, her pupils dilated. Her accelerated heart rate sounded like music to him. He growled his hunter instincts taking over. Pushing her off of him he tackled her to the floor. He dwarfed her tiny body, he liked to over power her, to remind her how easily he could break her. "Ja", she whispered. The mist rolled over her prone body making her shiver. Taking both her hand and pinning them above her head allowing him to cover her, using his body heat to warm her; always careful not to crush her.

She laughed softly, "Why so gentle this time?"

"Am I not allowed to touch you how ever I please?" he asked grinding his hips into her. He wanted her to feel how hard she was making him.

Now that he was closer to her she wrapped her legs around him pulling him into her again, "You have proven many times that you can do just as you please and I will always be satisfied."

"Maybe I will make this just for me then?" his other hand tracing under her thigh between their bodies. Without his armor he was only covered by a deep brown leather wrap which was more than easy for him to remove and throw aside.

"The floor is cold by the way." Kida giggled.

"Allow me to rectify that." He released her arms and wrapping a hand around her back he lifted her off the ground only to press her into the wall. "Better?"

"You could say that." She grabbed a fist full of his dreadlocks causing him to let out a roar.

"Don't test me Kida!" He bit down on her shoulder.

"You know I always will." She gasped between breaths. She moved her hips against him.

"I am very proud of you today." He wasted no more time lifting her up and lowered her onto his fully erect cock. "You're so small." He whispered.

"Only because you're so big."

"That was horribly said." He thrust into her again.

"Well you can make it hard to think straight." Her head lulled back against the wall. Bhu'Ja used the opportunity to lick her neck. He felt her clench around him.

He thrust himself more vigorously into her, their moans echoing off the walls. Her back began to ache from being pushed up against the cold metal for so long. She didn't care. She could feel him inside her; every stroke sending delicious waves throughout her whole body. After all the time she had known him it could still amazed her the amount of strength that he had after a battle. This was his favorite way to relax, and she was more than happy to oblige.

"Ja, you need to hurry." She cried out.

Biting at her ear he replied, "Why is that? Not going to last much longer? Are you going to come for me?"

"YES!" She yelled.

"I will do what I can." He changed his strokes; going harder and deeper. He felt every inch of her clench around him. He purred as her insides milked him for his release.

It would have come for both of them had at that moment the door not slid open, followed by Lar'Ja walking in.

"I'm…. sorry." He said, eyes cast down.

"What the fuck could be so important that you have to be HERE?" Bhu"ja didn't remove himself from her. He could feel her frustration deep inside. Kida was shaking with anger from being so close to orgasm. She could hear the blood pumping through her body. Had he pulled away Bhu'Ja was afraid she would kill his companion.

"There is a ship nearby. There are no clan markings and they are putting out no signal. How would you like to proceed?"

"Blanket the ship. I will be up in a minute."

Lar"Ja turned around and walked away pretending that he saw nothing. He knew that if he said a word it may be his last.

"Looks like we will have to hurry." Before Kida could question him he bent her over the bench near the door, mercilessly thrusting into her.

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she called out. The feeling of the cold mist against her legs and the heat from his body sent pleasant shivers up her spine. His claws raked down her back. _That's going to leave a mark_ Kida giggled to herself. Soon he was pulsating inside her; within minutes she couldn't control her own body. With ever thrust she was shaking a moaning for her release, which he heartily granted.

Tired and out of breath Kida slumped to the floor letting the air cool her down. "We aren't done yet." He casually mentioned not looking at her as he pulled his loin cloth back into place. "Now get dressed. We may have another hunt." With that he walked out the door.

…

Kida walked into the command room. Usually their ships flew on auto pilot so the passengers could focus on training. Finding an un-coded ship however, was means to blanket all systems. Running into a bad blood would be a very difficult circumstance.

"What are we looking at?" she inquired.

Lar'Ja was the first to respond, "It's difficult to tell. They haven't moved or shown any sign that they have seen us. I can't see any discernable clan or name markings on the hull. How should I proceed?

"Did the scan turn up any heat signatures yet?"

"Nothing yet. It's almost done.

"Have you contacted the elders yet?" She asked/

"Not yet." Bhu'Ja replied. "I don't think we should bother them with this until we find out who the ship belongs to."

Something from the console beeped. Lar'Ja pulled up a skeletal map of the ghost ship, "There is nothing living on board. Systems are all shut down as well."

"Make note of the ship and its location then destroy it. Something doesn't seem right." Bhu'Ja turned and walked out of the room. Kida followed wondering where the Yautja the ship belonged to went, or who it even belonged to. A Yautja would never abandon their ship and even bad bloods marked their ships.

Kida followed Bhu'Ja to their bedroom. Finally he spoke up "I will keep this girl as your new companion. She will need someone to teach her our ways. You are the most logical choice."

"Well thank you for asking me first." Kida rolled her eyes.

"I do not need to ask you. You are supposed to do what I say."

Kida busted out laughing, "When have I ever listed to everything that you have told me to do?"


	7. Chapter 7

"Time to get up." Kida said curtly. She stood over the bed that served as Rei's cryo chamber for the past two months. The thick black substance that froze her biological sequences was slow to drain.

Rei opened her eyes and sat up. Trying to raise her arms but impeded by the heavy goo. "What the hell?"

"Trust me you don't want to know what that's made of." Kida smirked and offered a hand to help her up. "It will dissipate after a time so don't worry about it. We have reached Prime, and that is what you should be worried about."

"What is prime?"

"It is our home planet. Things happened while you were asleep and we have to report it in. Remember to keep your head down. Do not look at anyone directly. I will try to keep them from bothering you."

"Is this where you live?"

"The only ones who live here permanently are the Ancients; the ones that have never lost a battle or a hunt and have earned the respect of all the Yautja. Again do not look at anyone. I cannot stress that enough."

"I get that. What am I allowed to do?"

"Breathe."

"Oh how nice." When all the black goo started to harden and fall off they began moving. Walking was difficult for Rei. It felt like she had never used her legs before. The last time she was in cryo was when she was being sent to the colony. This felt worse. Most likely it was the weight of the goo she though. It didn't help that the ship was shaking. Were they entering the atmosphere? It didn't feel like a drop. Human ships never flew through the layers of a planet. Dropping was a much safer option.

The interior of the ship didn't help. The twist and turns of the ship were making her dizzy. How Kida knew where she was going was a miracle and in her confusion it was hard for Rei to keep up. "Why is this ship so confusing?"

"Every Yautja ship is different. No two are the same. This helps if we are ever attacked; even if an adversary were to make it on board they would have to find their way around first."

"Well shit. That makes a lot of sense."

"Human layouts are all to simple to figure out. You leave maps and signs everywhere; you use glass as a building material. You think that is confusing? I can assure you it is nothing compared to what you will see."

Kids walked up to a section of wall and a keypad appeared. Instead of typing onto the pad she opened a panel on her wrist gauntlet and pressed a few buttons. The keypad disappeared and the door opened. "Don't try to open any doors either. It won't end well." Rei nodded and followed Kida into the control room. She noticed that both of the giants were standing looking out the main window. Only the yellow one turned to look at them as they entered. Through the glass all she could see was red and orange clouds speeding by, like someone was blowing colorful smoke at them. Occasionally the ship would rock or jump a little.

"How far is it?" Rei asked.

"Not far." Kida responded. "Don't try to talk to them." she nodded her head in the direction of her companions, "They won't respond. Lar'Ja doesn't speak English, and Bhu'Ja won't admit that he can."

"What did you call them?" Rei had to grab hold of the wall as they hit turbulence.

"I called them by their names."

"Oh. They have names?" Even Rei thought she sounded silly.

Kida just stared at her with wide unbelieving eyes. "And I though I was ignorant when I was taken. Yes they have names!"

"Sorry. I just thought they grunted at each other."

"If you listen instead of assuming things you'll notice that those grunts are actual words."

"Do you speak their language? I've only heard you speak English."

"I've lived thousands of years with them. Of course I speak it!" Kida looked insulted.

"So then why speak English at all?"

"Because humans speak English; Back when I was living on earth it was different. I had no choice but to learn the Yautja language. Now with the expansion of the human race English and Japanese are really the only ones spoken now. When we take in slaves that's what they speak. I am still learning new words to this day."

"You take in slaves?"

"It is a common practice. They are trophies of the planets that we have hunted. They speak English until they learn our ways. You will be treated the same. I will speak English to you until you have been integrated."

Slavery hadn't been an issue with the human race for a very long time, almost dating back to their time on earth before the over population and expansion. In schools it was taught as something vile from humanities past. To hear someone who was human speak so casually about it was a little sickening. Even the androids are treated as fellow humans.

"Ok. So explain to me who they are." Rei asked pointing to her new owners.

"The larger one is Bhu'Ja. He is what is called an arbitrator. You would compare to a military leader. He can kill whomever he wishes. He is sent out when a hive needs to be eradicated or there are bad bloods. His ranking has earned him the right to choose his name and a mate."

"How high is his rank? You have to be approved to mate?"

"They can have as many children as they wish. However, for their children to be recognized they have to be from a mated pair. You can only mate if you have proved yourself many times in battle. This shows that you have strong blood and the elders of the clan will wish to continue your line."

"What is his full name?"

"Mar'cte-Bhu'Ja-Kiri"

"That's quite a mouthful."

"That is nothing. For every rank you gain a new name. The ancients can have as many as thirteen names. His means the killer soul of the Kiri."

"What about the other?"

"He is simply Lar'Ja which means dark. Ja is the clan name. Since he is a blooded male he was granted the clan name." When she noticed Rei's blank expression she rolled her eyes, "Blooded means that he passed his hunting test, that's called a chiva, if they pass this then you are considered blooded. After a few more hunts then you are officially a clan member."

"When you told me your name you gave part of his" Rei said pointing to Bhu'Ja. "Does that mean anything?"

"It means that we are mated."

Rei swore that her jaw hit the floor in that moment. So you and him are actually married?"

"If that is what you want to consider it."

Rei stared at her. It didn't make sense. Looking at the two she couldn't figure out how that would work. Openly staring at Bhu'Ja's groin she wondered if they were even made the same as humans. Were they proportionate to their size? She could see them being spiked or something just as gruesome judging by the rest of their bodies.

"How the fuck does that even work?" Rei couldn't stop herself from saying."

"_You may find out sooner than you think small one."_ Bhu'Ja replied. "_Nothing has been said yet._" Lar'Ja commented.

Looking between the two Rei was entirely lost, "What are they saying?" She asked Kida who looked like she was laughing at their comments.

"Nothing to be concerned about, for now at least, Don't worry small one. You will have the answers to your questions.

By now their conversation had attracted the attention of the two Yautja who were looking at them, mandibles twitching. Rei then remembered that Kida said the larger one could understand English, realizing that he probably understood what she had asked. She felt embarrassed, instead she focused her attention back to the view of the atmosphere, the fire-y clouds becoming thinner and shaped of buildings began to take form. It looked different than Rei expected. Everything was black, sharp angles of pyramids contrasted with the deep red light coming from the biggest sun Rei had ever seen.

"Damn"

"You like it?"

"Well… It is different." Rei turned and looked the three of them in the eye, "How do you expect me to make it?"

"Simple. You refuse to die."


	8. Chapter 8

Days turned to weeks. Weeks melted into months, and when the months began to fade time seemed to have no end for Rei. Her days were spent following Kida around with her head down. She learned quickly to always keep her head down. The Yautja didn't like when a lesser being looked them in the eyes. Within her first week she started a fight between Lar'ja and a well established hunter. Kida told her later that night how the warrior felt insulted because Rei had run into him by accident and looked directly at him and apologized.

According to Kida her transgressions were: Touching the hunter, Looking the hunter as though he were an equal, and then speaking to him as though he were an equal. To a well seasoned sain'ja such as he was, it was akin to her saying he is no better than a slave. Kida tried to stand up for her but the Yautja demanded blood for her crimes. If Lar'ja hadn't taken him up on his offer Rei actually believed Kida would have fought him.

"I could have done it." She had even complained as they watched the two muscled warriors clash. "Look at that! He missed his footing allowing for his opponent to attack." She waved her arms around.

Rei listened to her gripe, but couldn't help watch her first fight. Though it was nothing more than a common street brawl the two fought as though it was to the death. Her focus lay on the dull yellow of Lar'ja's skin. Everything about him was built for fighting. She could imagine him stalking prey through a hot jungle somewhere. His movements were fast and precise, admittedly not as fast as the more seasoned warrior. Rei thought, he showed promise.

"They aren't going to kill each other right?" Rei was sure, but at the rate they were going it looked like to the death.

"It is to first blood. Lar'ja will most likely lose. We will explain that I will punish you properly and then we will be on our way."

A few minutes later it was over. The opposing hunters blades landed a deep gash to Lar'ja's chest, sending his blood flying. Rei jumped back when she felt the thick liquid land on her cheek. Instantaneously the crowd that had gathered to watch dispersed and life returned to its normal pace. Lar'ja walked over to the pair and spoke to Kida. Rei understood none of what was said until he turned his attention to her. He had walked so close her face was almost level with the wound that was dripping neon green blood.

Remembering to keep her head down she tore her gaze from his marble casted chest to the spikes protruding from his thick boots. Time moved painstakingly slow listening to the rumble of his breathing and the subtle clicks coming from between his mandibles. Movement on her right caught her attention. Rei watched as he raised his arm and lift it to touch her face. Gently his right hand cupped her cheek, and using his thumb he whipped the blood from her face.

Rei never found out if it was because of her actions, but a few weeks after Bhu'ja announced that they would be traveling to their clans hunting planet. Kida seemed relieved, even ecstatic to hear this news.

"It will be a lot easier for you there."

The next few years went by pretty smoothly. Kida continued to teach Rei the Yautja culture. The worst part for her was the language. Every syllable seemed to blend together, an act that Kida made seem easy. Eventually she caught on and could understand what the males were saying; one day she had caught them talking about her. She mentioned this to Kida who told her that she was a constant topic of discussion, mainly on if she would be worthy of being made an apprentice.

On the clan planet she met other slaves. Some ooman like herself, and others of a different species entirely. Her favorite was a girl with dark amethyst skin and in place of hair she had two long tentacles. She was a lovely girl and was much older than Rei. The others had called her Ami as her race and name were too difficult to pronounce, and she didn't seem to mind. She was a slave to another member of the clan who wasn't as nice to her as Kida was to Rei. When she found out that her master would beat her for her transgressions she wanted to protest on the girls behest, but was highly advised against it. Life would be much harder if one of them were to complain.

"This is how our life is here." Ami declared. "I don't mind so much. I have heard of others who have much worse masters than mine. He can actually be quite nice when he wants to be."

"Do you guys have no ambitions outside of being slaves?"

"Why should we" Another inquired. A dark skinned human who claimed to have helped build the pyramids on earth.

"I don't know? Maybe become hunters yourselves?"

Ami put a hand on Rei's shoulder. "Not all of us are cut out for that. For you it is possible as you were a warrior before you were captured. You have already fought alongside our leader. The rest of us were just plucked from our lives and brought here." She gestured to the small circle of women. For a moment Rei felt remorse for them. Ami seemed to sense this, "Do not feel bad for us. We have learned to accept this life. If you have an opportunity to join them out there make us proud and as you oomans say kick some ass!"

All of the girls in the group laughed so hard it drew the attention of some of the hunters passing by. Realizing that they were lagging behind they parted ways to continue their work for the day. For the rest of that month anytime they passed each other they would subtly wish each other to kick ass before skirting away giggling. Eventually Rei started to feel more warmly to these girls more than she ever had with her platoon of marines. Maybe they were right. Maybe this life wasn't as bad as the name made it sound.

Though she was a slave she was really allowed to do what she wanted so long as she didn't break any cultural rules. Kida, though a tough master when she was in a bad mood, kept her busy with tasks that were ultimately teaching her the norms for the hunters. When polishing armor she had learnt the pieces and how they worked, when cleaning the sparring ring she could now remember the weight and aerodynamics of each weapon. She even had time to be with her friends at the end of the day as the slaves shared a barracks style sleeping arrangement.

During her years on the planet Rei became comfortable with her life. "Now" she thought "It is time to prove I can be one of them."


	9. Chapter 9

Hey everyone! Thank you guys so much for being patient with me, and Thank you for the supportive messages :3 Knowing that you guys are enjoying this story inspires me to keep writing.

Rei waited for an opportunity to breach the question to her mentor. One of the things she had learned was that they didn't talk much in the Yautja culture. You were ignored until you were needed. Casual conversations just didn't happen. She had tried it to try and practice the language with Bhu'ja, but he just ignored her. It frustrated her to no end because even when she yelled at him in English she knew that he could understand her yet was ignoring her on purpose.

She decided to confide in Ami one night, "I want to put myself out there! Every time I try and talk to any of them they just walk away!"

"They are not and up front sort of culture. You need to do something to prove that you are worthy of their time."

"How the hell do I do that? Trial by combat? A display of endurance and strength? A fucking dance off?" Rei threw her hands up in anger.

Laughing Ami replied, "I don't think it works that way. However, I think it would be quite amusing to see one of them try to dance."

Rei tried to picture it, a large muscled reptilian swaying back and fourth; possibly even attempting to break dance. She remembered a few of the troops in the colony used to do that. Rolling over in bed she though that it would be interesting if she could get one of the hunters to try.

Everything was going pleasantly; Rei was running through the jungle chasing one of the many animals that were bred on the clans' planet. She was almost within striking range when suddenly she was falling face first onto the hard stone floor. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she stood up and looked around.

At the end of each bed stood a different clan member and many of the slaves were on the floor. The ones that the hunters couldn't wake up outright they pushed out of the bed. Once everyone was awake and standing Bhu'ja entered the barracks. This shocked all of the girls as he hardly ever came within the vicinity of them.

"_I know this in unorthodox. It is not very often I tend to speak." _The clan leader started, _For some reason the clan elder feels the need to be on planet for an undetermined period of time. I ask that during his stay that you never leave your masters side. I have noticed many of you sneaking away to converse. Normally I see no issue with this. However the elder is not as lenient as I. Does everyone understand?"_

Each girl crossed their right arm over their chest as a salute that they understood the instructions, all while sharing quizzical glances with each other. Rei had never heard of the elder. Kida either failed to mention him, or was waiting until it was important. She would find out today. This could be her chance to prove what she could do.

"I do not have time to go over this right now" Kida took long purposeful strides down the hall. The camp had been a hive of activity since the announcement of the elder arriving. Kida who was usually composed seemed nervous and slightly more irritable.

"But If I could show him…"

"You would be lucky if he even stepped on your foot ok! The chances of him even paying attention to you are miniscule."

"What is so important about this guy anyways?"

"It's Bhu'Ja's father."

Rei froze. _Well shit _she thought. No wonder Kida was behaving awkwardly. She was going ot have to deal with her father-in-law. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Oh sure, He only tried to kill me the last time I met him."

"Wait what?" Rei ran to catch back up. They had made it to Kida's apartments. Being mated to the clan leader she had to look the part for once.

Kida pulled out a set of armor that looked almost like copper, and a heavy red fabric. "Help me put these on. I don't feel like getting stabbed again." She said rolling her eyes.

"What exactly happened the last time you met him?" Rei struggled with the straps on the breast plate. Formal armor was much more complex than the normal awu'asa.

"He wasn't very happy with the fact that Bhu'ja picked me. In fact he was so sure I would die during my trials he bet that if I survived then he would allow the mating. When I didn't he attempted to kill me before I could make it back to the ship. When that also failed he damn near banished us." She bent down to lace up her sandals, "I think the only thing that really saved us was the fact that one of the men he sent to assassinate me was Bhu'Ja's brother so there was no one else to take over the clan, and then he won his challenge for the title of elder."

Rei had to stop to process this information. She had said so casually that she had killed her husbands' brother; like it was nothing. Even the attempts on her life she damn near brushed off. "Is stuff like this normal around here?"

"It's almost a daily occurrence. You have to fight if you want to move up in this society. The more you win the more credibility you have. Lar'Ja is challenged multiple times per day."

Rei's ears perked up at the mention of his name. _Wait why do I care?_ She shook her head.

"He should be here any minute now." Kida stood up. She was a very imposing figure dressed like this. The dark spots on her skin stood out against the bright copper of the armor. Instead of the usual dull leather coverings she now wore the deep red velvet like material. Around one thigh she had a thick leather belt that housed multiple throwing knives, and strapped to her back were her swords. With a nod Rei picked up her helmet and followed her out tot the great hall.

Normally Rei felt fine walking around, she was used to being ignored and in fact almost preferred it that way. Today, however, the tension in the clan was high. None of the other servants paid attention to each other. Every hunter was wearing armor that was covered in battle marks walking around cautiously.

"You feel it don't you?" Kida smirked.

"Feel what? How on edge everyone seems to be around here."

"Exactly, every fighter has something to prove, and who better to prove it in front of than the clan elder."

_That makes sense. _Rei thought. Hell she had been thinking about that herself earlier. It probably wouldn't be the best idea, especially if many of the clan would be at war with each other during his stay.

They reached the sliding doors to the great hall. "Brace yourself" Kida warned.

Rei didn't know why she meant to say that until they entered the room. At the head sat the ugliest Yautja she had ever seen. He had pale skin with dark green spots, and a face that was almost nothing but spikes and scars. One of his mandibles was missing a tusk, but that didn't take away from his domineering look.

Kida motioned Rei to go stand in a corner with the rest of the servants, many of whom she didn't recognize and could only assume that they belonged to the elder.

"_Father" _Kida said kneeling down and crossing her arm over her chest. Rei noticed Bhu'ja seemed to be laughing from beside the throne. He apparently enjoyed watching her push his fathers buttons.

"_U'darahje" _He scowled in return. It was a word that Rei didn't recognize.

She turned to the shy looking girl next to her, "_excuse me," _she spoke in Yautja hoping it was a common language between them, _"What did he call her?"_

The girl didn't look up from the floor but softly answered, "Abomination"


End file.
